Technology makes electronic music production easier

Published: March 27, 2014 4:00AM

(StatePoint) It's music and dance festival season, and musicians and DJs everywhere are gearing up. If trends continue this year, pop ular festivals will be more jam-packed than ever, suggest statistics.

In fact, digital music revenues of electronic dance music grew 9.8 percent in 2012, and the attendance at 20 top global festivals increased from 1.9 million in 2009 to more than an estimated 3.4 million in 2013, according to a market study conducted by Massive Advisors.

The growing presence of EDM at festivals and music industry events is a testament to the increasing number of people aspiring to be deejays and mix their own music.

Part of this trend is thanks to new technology, which is making electronic music production easier and affordable, and ultimately leveling the playing field. Whether your life is dedicated to EDM or you're a novice hobbyist, new must-have gear can help you step it up:

Build and mix

A groove synthesizer designed for club deejays should be equipped with a step sequencer that allows artists to build and mix performances as they go. While a power supply is important, look for a truly mobile synthesizer that can also run on batteries. For example, the XW-G1 from the Casio XW series, features 420 built-in sounds, 25 multi-function keys and has the ability to sample, as well a six oscillator monophonic solo synth that utilizes Casio's Hybrid Processing Sound Source.

With nine tracks for drums, basses, synths and chordal parts, along with four controller tracks for adding panning, filter changes and other animation to existing parts, and eight patterns that make up each sequence; you can build and mix your performance on the fly.

High fidelity

For DJs, audiophiles and music enthusiasts, headphones should be tough, lightweight and designed for mobility, as well as combine high audio fidelity with usability. Test out different headphones to ensure you're getting accurate, natural sound across the entire audio spectrum.

Consider a flexible VJ/DJ controller that allows you to create remixes of audio and video from all your devices -- including music players, smartphones, PCs, Macs, iPads, iPhones or iPods, while delivering the benefits of definitive professional hardware, such as Casio. The XW-J1 all-in-one VJ/DJ controller integrates with one's iTunes library, making operation familiar and easy. Sharing your creations is easy, too, as you can record your mixes and directly save them to your iTunes library.

More information about gearing up for the EDM festival season and beyond can be found at www.CasioMusicGear.com.

For an artistic edge, take the time to freshen up your gear to ensure you're mixing, mashing and creating with the very best.